'Weeds' is really ending after Season 8

The coming season of
"Weeds" will be its final one -- for real this time.

The Showtime comedy has been the subject of "will this be the last season?" speculation for several seasons running. Now Showtime says Season 8, which debuts July 1, will be the swan song for the show, which is currently Showtime's longest-running original series.

"There were two shows, 'Weeds' and
'Dexter,' that really got Showtime taken seriously for cutting-edge original programming," Showtime Entertainment president
David Nevinstells EW, which first reported the news of "Weeds'" end. "How they get brought home is really important. ... TV fans love nothing better than to complain about how shows end, and we really want to end this one the right way."

Creator
Jenji Kohan says the season premiere will resolve last year's cliffhanger, but she hasn't yet settled on an ending for Nancy Botwin (
Mary-Louise Parker) and the series. The announcement of the end now, though, will at least give her a chance to come up with one.

"We wrack our brains every year for crazy cliffhangers, and we're trying to figure out how to top ourselves," Kohan says.